Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former executive at Meta and author of an explosive insider account of her time at the social media giant testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, accusing the company of undermining national security and briefing China on U.S. artificial intelligence efforts in order to grow its business. Wynn-Williams served as director of global public policy at Facebook, now Meta, from 2011 until 2017. Her book, "Careless People" sold 60,000 copies in its first week and reached the top 10 on Amazon.com's best-seller list amid efforts by the social media giant to discredit the book and stop her from talking about her time at the company.
By JONATHAN J. COOPER, BILL BARROW and AMELIA THOMSON DeVEAUX Associated Press
Some of President Donald Trump's working-class and middle-class supporters see a lack of emphasis on lowering consumer costs and making daily American life more affordable. Trump's second administration has opened with a notable embrace of some of the world's wealthiest people alongside a flurry of executive actions on immigration and other topics. There's a delicate balance for the populist president. And some progressive activists say it already has exposed the billionaire Republican president's true loyalties. Arizona home construction contractor Enrique Lopez says he's struck by Trump's lack of emphasis on housing costs or consumer interests. Trump insists his overall agenda will help working- and middle-class Americans.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says senior Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to "censor" some COVID-19 content during the pandemic. He vowed that the social media giant would push back if it faced such demands again. Zuckerberg sent a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Zuckerberg alleges that the officials, including those from the White House, "repeatedly pressured" Facebook for months to take down "certain COVID-19 content including humor and satire." In response, the White House said in a statement that it was confronted with a deadly pandemic, and the administration was encouraging "responsible actions to protect public health and safety."
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook parent company Meta, is on the witness stand in a California courtroom as part of the FTC's effort to stop the tech giant from buying a virtual reality startup. At issue is whether Meta's acquisition of the small company that makes a VR fitness app called Supernatural will hurt competition in the emerging virtual reality market. If the deal is allowed to go through, the Federal Trade Commission argues, it would violate antitrust laws and dampen innovation, hurting consumers who may face higher prices and fewer options outside of Meta-controlled platforms.
